The Squamidian Report – July 26 / 03
Also in this issue:
Traveling Carol
The Ontarion
Hi All,
We are still in the midst of a typical west coast summer, hot and dry. Don’t know how the moss that covers everything survives the heat. One up side is that my blueberries are ripe and I can pick them directly onto my bowl of ice cream.
Things were sure crowded here last weekend. We have Carol and Al in one bedroom. A young couple that are friends of Ryan turned up. They are checking out the west coast, so we put them in Emily’s room. Em’s mother came to visit and take Em over to the island for some exploring so we put her in the little spare room. That left the floor for Ryan and Em.
Ryan’s woke up Sunday morning with a locked up neck. He was in a lot of pain so we doped him up with painkillers and left him there. Most of the rest of us headed for the Chief. Sue and Em stayed home to fuss over Ryan. Warren and his dog came along as well as Michelle. Em’s mother, Elizabeth, had traveled this area years ago but had never done the Chief.
Al gave it a good try but he wasn’t quite up to it and knew enough to turn back about a quarter of the way up. Carol made it all the way although it took quite a while. Well worth it.
There have been two incidences on the Chief this week. A hang glider was blown against the side of the cliff by a wind gust and managed to lodge on a ledge. The rescue people couldn’t get him off until the next morning. Then some thrill seeking base jumper tried to jump off with a parachute and was blown onto a tree-lined ledge. He had to be rescued by experienced climbers. No other way to get to him.
Sue headed for Lethbridge on Monday morning where the temperature hit 39 this week. She dropped Em and her mother off at the airport bus stop where they caught a bus that takes the ferry to Victoria. Ryan’s friend had left and Carol and Al headed over to the Island on Tuesday morning. That left the house to Ryan and I. Nice and peaceful and quiet.
I’m not sure whom I work for these days. I had a disagreement with my boss over how he treated a customer. He can be pretty strange at the best of times and can make any job site into a stressful adventure. He hasn’t called me into work for two weeks. He has several of his out of work logging buddies working for him. However, one of the guys in out Tuesday jam sessions has a landscape company and is in desperate need for someone to run his small excavator. I’ve been working for him and he wants me to stay on. His job sites are relaxed and easy going. I will probably stay with him although it would mean a small pay cut. Might be worth it. I may be able to work for both companies. When things slow down out here and each needs me a couple of day a week it could work out well.
The Vancouver Indy is on this weekend. Sure don’t want to try driving anywhere in the city right now. And there are the wind surfing championships happening in the Sound right here. Lots of things for the tourists.
And oh yes, Sue has found a Tim Horton outlet that is worse than the one here. It is in the Calgary airport. It was so bad that the auditors sat there and watched, just for the entertainment value. The pilots all say it is the worst on in the whole world.
****
Hi All,
Our holidays are flying by quickly. Doug rubs it in that living out here means he is on perpetual holidays even though he works. Last Sunday was my initiation into the ranks of those who have climbed the Chief. Doug, Emily’s mom (who flew out for a visit) our cousins Warren & Michelle & I made the trip up. I warned Doug that I was confident that my legs could make the trip but because of my damaged lungs I would have to stop often to breathe. Doug says members of the younger generation almost runs up but are stiff & sore the next day. I took a little longer to get up but felt great on Monday - 4 months of step exercises paid off! The view from the top is worth the effort, you feel like you are on top of the world plus you have that sense of accomplishment that doesn’t come from riding a gondola for the difficult parts. The last part of the climb is the most fun as you are on rocks and get to use chains to haul yourself up. Doug is right about the air out here my throat wasn’t sore until part way down and it is always sore when walking at home (another after effect of my gassing). I was glad I talked Al into stopping part way up the climb as he suffers from vertigo and I suggest when all of you eventually make your way here for a visit you only make the climb if heights do not bother you.
We took the ferry over to Vancouver Island Tuesday morning. I forgot that ferry rides make me ill. I was better prepared for the trip back as I took graval and dressed warm enough to stay outside the whole crossing. The scenery is worth the suffering. When we visited a lighthouse there was a map showing all the known shipwrecks up to 1924 and there was an amazingly large number. Looking at the shoreline as it approached, while I still saw the beauty, I was aware of how forbidding the country is and how hostile to settlement and exploration. Those first sailors and explorers were pretty gutsy people! This time we spent most of our 3 days on the island in the Victoria area. The gardens are beautiful and the number of Palm trees that grow there is surprising. Besides touring gardens we visited 2 castles, the Royal British Columbia Museum, Miniature World (highly recommended), the west coast’s oldest lighthouse, strolled the waterfront and took numerous scenic walks. Al seemed to think a highlight was landing at one attraction at the same time as a group who were touring in their old cars most of which date to the 20’s & 30’s. Before we headed to the island Doug took us to see Warren’s place and to all the sights of interest like Shannon Falls. Today I baked the obligatory pies for Doug (when you visit may I suggest you call mom for her pie recipes first?). We also toured the local train museum. Hopefully we will check out the windsurfing championships that are going on here tomorrow before spending our last evening at Warren’s place. We head home by way of Yellowstone Park on Sunday.
I was interested in reading Mary’s comments this week. When Michelle & Chris were visiting Kitchener before they moved west I took them to Brubacher House and we spoke for a long time to that lady whose children Mary delivered. My grandmother told us that the house was built by Grandpa’s great-uncle. Mary I hope you told Sus how much everyone is missing her Nova Scotia report. I only knew that Michelle’s Seth had visited because he wasn’t here and it would have been nice to hear about your trip there from Sus’ perspective. Sus how about just a paragraph in a “reply all”? I must mention the blueberries out here, a benefit of visiting the east coast also. I have raided Doug’s patch, much to his disgust, but mostly have been buying and eating huge containers every day. This won’t stop me from heading to the pick-your-own patches as soon as I get home. Have a great week and we will see most of you when we are back (Al will go home kicking & screaming, Doug has converted him totally to west coast living).
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
July 25, 2003
Hello
everyone! Guess we made it through another week. I just finished my second and
last week as the “Shuttle Bus Driver” for the Nissan dealer. Sure am glad it’s
over. It was kind of fun but I don’t think I could do it year round. I’ll have
to go in on Monday when the regular driver is back and see if I can’t talk them
into giving the poor devil a raise. He’s run off his feet (or wheels) as it may
be and they pay the guy a paltry $6.85/hr. I figure he must be doing it for
reasons other than the money because he sure ain’t getting rich from it! One
bonus, if you can call it that is that I now know every mechanic in Kitchener Waterloo!
I got to deliver parts to all of them over the course of 2 weeks.
I also found out where all the road construction is going on in the twin cities. It’s mostly in Waterloo this year and there is a lot of it. They have about a 2 km stretch of Columbia St torn up to install huge water mains and sewers to accommodate the new industrial park that they are building behind the Optometry Building north of the University of Waterloo. It’s going to be the hub of high tech computer development for Canada. This goes hand in hand with the University. They develop the technology and give the students jobs in the industry while they learn. Once the students graduate, there are permanent jobs for many of them in the same complex. Sort of the silicon valley of Ontario. University of Waterloo has always been known for its computer science prowess.
They said on the news the other night that there is $160 million in road work in the region of Waterloo this summer. Carole just told me about a young girl that was mentioned on TV the other day. She entered her science project in a Canada wide contest and won 4th prize. She mixed recyclable shredded plastics with asphalt and produced a compound to pave roads with that outlasts conventional pavement by many years. The new compound has a give to it that prevents it from wearing with the movement of vehicle tires. Her father had a contact with a paving company that was willing to try her idea on an actual stretch of road. She checks and takes measurements on the section of pavement every few weeks and is finding that it is showing no wear at all when compared to the conventional pavement.
Other
items in the news lately focus on the entertainment industry. The Rolling
Stones are playing in Toronto later this month to boost tourism for that city.
They are expecting up to ½ a million people to attend that concert. It’s being
held at the old Downsview Air Base north of Toronto. Should be quite a blast.
Karin said that Karl has tickets to see this concert. So everyone take a close
look at the TV news footage and see if you can find Karl in the “Mosh Pit”!
LOL! The Rolling Stones aren’t the only
big star to hit Ontario this summer. Ringo Starr and his “All Star Band” are
playing in Orillia at the Rama Indian Reserve Casino this week. It might have
been fun to go see him but the tickets have been sold out for months now.
Carole would like to go see him again. She attended a Beatles concert when she
lived in Belfast Northern Ireland as a teenager. She was in the very front of
the concert hall right at the stage with her girlfriend. Everybody was throwing
flowers etc at the Moptop boys from Liverpool. Carole tossed a penny onto the
stage and Paul picked it up and kissed it and tossed it back to her. She has
kept it as a souvenir ever since. I think she sleeps with it under pillow to
this day! LOL!
Speaking of parties, the young kid that lives across the street from us is having another one of his famous booze bashes. He has about 10 of these things a summer and the police always show up. About 3 weeks ago he had one and there were a good 150 kids there. They like to sit on the curb and drink and when a car comes along, they take turns running across the street in front of the car. I’m sure one of them is going to get hit one of these times. These parties take place in the garage and of course spill out onto the front lawn as well as the street. They wind up fighting and smashing beer bottles on the road. The smell of pot wafts across the neighbourhood and we’ve watched as they make numerous trips to one fellows car and exchange money for small packages of ????? whatever? I’m sure they are dealing right before our eyes. The cops usually show up around midnight and again an hour or two later and finally break things up. I’ll be sitting up tonight to watch that nobody touches our precious new Jeep. I certainly didn’t buy it so some punk assed druggie could smash a beer bottle on the hood!
Hell,
maybe I should be the one to call the cops this time and have them put an end
to it before it even gets under way! I don’t know for the life of me where this
kids parents are then all the stuff is going on. I think they must have a
cottage or something because they always seem to be away when this happens.
You’d think they’d hear about the problems from the police and put an end to
such activities. Oh well, I guess I can’t expect all parents to act responsibly
and do the right thing as most of us would if our kids were partying
uncontrollably. They’ll probably ignore the problem until the kids burn their
house to the ground while they’re away some weekend. Guess I’ll be picking up
beer bottles before I mow the lawn in the morning. I’ve done that many times
before. I should probably go for now and keep an eye on things for a while
before hitting the hay tonight. Thanks for tuning in again this week and I look
forward to reading the other reports and comments as well. I hope Carol and Al
are having a ball in BC with Doug and Sue. We look forward to hearing all about
their trip when they get back. Bye for now and have a safe week everyone.
GREG.
PS: Something To Think About <
Life is like an onion. You peel it
off one layer at a time and sometimes you weep!
****
Have a good one..
the
doug